With the rap of the gavel, Bro. Raymond E. Oldland, Sr., W.M., Marion Lodge No. 562, Connellsville, opened the 15th Annual Meeting in the Hills. There were 680 brethren in attendance representing 70 different lodges from Pennsylvania, 11 states and one Jurisdiction from Canada.

This ever-popular Masonic gathering is held under special dispensation in a secluded spot near Dawson, Pa. The event is organized by the lodges that share the Pleasant Valley Masonic Center in Connellsville: King Solomon's Lodge No. 346, Marion Lodge No. 562 and James Cochran Lodge No. 614.

With an impending storm fast approaching, the special meeting to honor our brethren who served overseas in our military during the past 10 years (shown below) went off without a drop of rain during the meeting.

Bro. Oldland asked CDS President Bro. Alan R. Sandusky, P.M., to speak on behalf of a new program called the 200 Club, which will hopefully retire the debt on the Pleasant Valley Masonic Center.

Bro. Oldland then called on Bro. Timothy L. Shumar, District Deputy Grand Master for District 30, to address the gathering. Bro. Shumar thanked the lodges of the CDS Building Committee and especially the property owners, the Christner family, for their dedication and hard work to continue this wonderful event. He then called on Bro. Raymond T. Dietz, R.W. Senior Grand Warden, for comments (shown right).

Prior to the event, the brethren were served a N.Y. strip steak dinner accompanied by a baked potato, corn and salad. The evening concluded with hot apple dumplings and ice cream. The top left picture shows the tremendous effort put into serving the large number of brethren attending the event.

Online Masonic Education is Gaining Momentum!

Since the debut of the online Masonic Education site, 988 members have created logins, 219 have taken the first Masonic law quiz, 168 have taken the second Masonic law quiz, 177 have taken the quiz on the Masonic history video, 221 have taken the quiz on the written Masonic history document, 190 have taken the Entered Apprentice Mason Mentoring quiz, 166 have taken the Fellowcraft Mason Mentoring quiz and 161 have taken the Master Mason Mentoring quiz.

The website and course offerings will continue to evolve and expand to provide additional learning opportunities for members. If you haven't checked it out yet, visit www.pamasons.net/education.

If you already have signed up for the Member Services portion of the pagrandlodge.org website, you can log in to the Masonic Education site using the same username and password. If you have not, then first you will need to register with Member Services, at the lower right-hand side of the Grand Lodge website's home page, www.pagrandlodge.org. You will need your member number and lodge number (for your primary lodge) in order to register. If you do not know your member number, contact your lodge secretary.

If you are still having difficulty logging in, please email. Please be sure to check the Site News located at the bottom of the first page, where some introductory information has been provided.